Game Review: IQ Gears
Today, I’m reviewing the IQ Gears puzzle game from Smart Games.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary game for review from Timberdoodle. All views expressed are my own.
IQ Gears
Like most other Smart Games, IQ Gears is a single-player puzzle game. It focuses on concentration, problem-solving, and logic and is recommended for ages seven and up.
What’s Included
IQ Gears includes a plastic game board with a clear lid, seven geared puzzle pieces, and a game booklet with 120 challenges and solutions. The self-contained game board and compact size make it a perfect travel game.
How to Play
The objective of IQ Gears is to fit all the pieces onto the game board in such a way as to create a connection between the two gears on each side of the board. Once all the pieces are correctly placed, rotating one gear causes the other gear to rotate.
First, remove all the puzzle pieces from the board to set up the game. At the Starter level, each challenge indicates the placement of one or more pieces. However, it’s up to you to figure out the proper configuration of the small gears on each starter piece. For Challenge 1, there is only one way the yellow and blue pieces can fit. However, the orange piece could be positioned with a gear in the bottom corner or a non-gear segment in the bottom corner. As it happens, I placed it wrong, so that was the first adjustment I had to make to solve the challenge.
The Master level challenges only indicate where the small gears go, so you have to figure out what configuration of pieces will achieve that arrangement. I confess I haven’t worked my way up to that level yet, so I had to refer to the Solutions page to set up the photo.
My Thoughts
IQ Gears is not only a fun cognitive challenge but also an intriguing fidget. It’s great for all ages because if the player finds the challenges too overwhelming, it could also be set up by following the solutions diagrams just for the satisfaction of being able to turn the gears.
The IQ series of Smart Games are my favorite for travel because they are so compact. The hinged lid snaps closed, so you don’t have to worry about pieces falling out, and the challenge booklet fits right inside the case. Check out my reviews of:
More Reviews
If you’re intrigued by single-player thinking games, check out these other Smart Games I’ve reviewed:
